Commencement
by scully-hearts-roslin
Summary: This is an altered & continued version of the season 3 finale, Crossroads part II. Story picks up near the end of the episode when Adama/Roslin talk about the trial. AU ending to BSG.
1. Chapter 1

**COMMENCEMENT  
**

**Disclaimer:** Characters are not mine – although they should be & are in my heart (especially Laura, *hee*). This is my altered & continued version of "Crossroads II". The trial and everything just remains the same, but the conversation Bill & Laura have on CIC actually happens in Bill's quarters. I will add that part here (in italics), so you can see where I started from. :o)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_LR: "Gaius Baltar is innocent. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl."_

_BA: "Not guilty is not the same as innocent."_

_LR: "It must've been particularly difficult for you. What did you, just... couldn't you get the other two guys to bulge?"_

_BA: (sighs)_

_LR: (eyes tearing up) You voted for his acquittal, didn't you?"_

_BA: "I hate to say it. Defense made their case, prosecution didn't."_

_LR: "Gaius Baltar is a traitor. We both know that. Regardless of the outcome of this trial."_

_BA: "No one's asking anyone to forget. Or to forgive. But we have to look to the future."_

"You weren't there, Bill." Laura looked at him, her eyes darkened by sadness.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Adama said with a soothing undertone.

"This isn't about you being sorry." Laura shook her head. "You weren't there. You don't understand."

Bill looked at her, listening to the sincerity in her calm voice.

"I was there. In the tents, in the brig, on the death list, Bill. They arrested me. They tied up my hands, they put me in that truck with the others. We were scared, Bill, scared to death. We didn't know what would happen to us." She laughed slightly, her voice giving away her fear and despair at the memory of that haunting moment. "They stopped in the middle of nowhere. They lined us up, ready to be shot by machines. They wanted a massacre, Bill, do you understand that?"

Laura's eyes bore into him, pleading for him to see her dark version of New Caprica.

"As if it wasn't bad enough that they came for us in the middle of the night, they arrested us for mere _suspicion_ of collaborating with the resistance." She lowered her head, holding the tears at bay. Tears of rage, tears of helplessness, of the loneliness of a survivor.

"How do you think I felt when they put me in detention? Do you think it was only tough on Saul Tigh?" Laura closed her eyes to shake off the memory of the first time she had seen him with only one eye left.

She sighed dismissively. "They took me. In the middle of the night. They threw me in a cell. A cell with one small window, far out of my reach, high enough so I couldn't see outside but managed to get the brunt of the blinding sun. It was freezing cold, isolated and every second I lived in fear of what I would see or hear next."

Bill didn't dare to look away from her, feeling like comforting her, yet knowing that she would shake him off.

"There was no food. There was no bed, no chair, no nothing. Just a sandy floor and thick cold walls. Oh yes, of course, there was a door. It was closed, but you knew when they were watching you. They wanted to see you go mad. They wanted to break you." She gasped. "Manipulation. It sounds so easy to fight when you hear it now, but it's pure hell when you are confronted with it."

Bill tried to find the right words to interrupt her. He failed. So she went on, the absent look in her eyes hurting his soul already.

"Do you have any idea how helpless I felt? There was nothing I could do. There was no escape." She lowered her head again. "There was a limit to my strength. How often do you think you can fight them? How often can you take a hit, a kick, a threat?"

Bill's eyes drifted shut at the image that crawled into his head. He tried to shake it off, it was no use.

"How well do you cope with being molested by a Cylon in the presence of others or alone when there's no escape, no rescue team, no hope?" She sighed again, her voice switching from insistent to a whisper. "How long do you think I was able to keep up the mask of superiority? Of dignity, of grace? There is no grace, Bill, in detention. There is no grace when you don't know whether the next time that door is opened you will loose your life, or your soul." A tear ran down her cheeks. "There is no pride left at a certain point, Bill. There is a level of pressure you will never understand. Men will never understand the level of fear you go through as a woman. The mere possibility hanging in the room as thick fog, reminding you of the fact that you are only a piece of meat to them, that you are alive at their disposal. That the hell you are enduring could get even worse, worse than you ever dared imagine"

She shook her head. "Don't tell me that not guilty isn't the same thing as innocent. It sure is when you felt their hands on your body, when you felt their feet in your rib cage & ties around your hands. There is no distinction when you heard their gunshots, when you had to bow to their rules, and when you were their chosen target." Laura shook her head. "Don't tell me about any fine lines, Bill, about the need to go on, to forgive and forget. Nothing that happened on New Caprica could be forgiven or forgotten. Nor should it be."

Bill sat motionless for a moment, observing how she tried to control herself again. The pain she had just begun to share with him was deep, and it didn't only make her skin crawl, now it affected him, made him ache, made him feel sick to his soul. He hadn't seen it from her perspective. He hadn't seen it from Saul's. He had tried to see it from a distance none of them would ever have. They had molested her. He had never dared to ask or to pursue that thought. He had feared it though, her words ringing in his head like a sad reminder of the wrong decision he had made only a few hours ago. A decision that would haunt him as much as her experiences haunted her.

Bill sighed. He tried to shrug off the pictures, the pictures her story had created in his mind. The pictures that were cruel to him because he began to understand how harsh New Caprica had been on her. He had suspected that she hadn't told him all the details since the rescue. He had never dared to ask. And now, he knew, and he wished he didn't. Not because he didn't care, but because he was afraid of the hate, the rage and the anger he would feel.

Bill studied her face, exanimate still. Her tears threatening to escape her flooded eyes, her strong will holding them back. He shook his head, reaching out his hands to hold hers, to protect her. If not then, now was the time to make up for it.

"We need to talk about this, deal with it. We can't just forget the past, and we shouldn't even try. But, Laura the future is what we should be focusing on now."

Laura Roslin looked at him, her disappointment visible in every fiber of her being. "Bill, you, of all people."

"We have to move on." He tried to pick up his argument.

"Move on?" Laura's voice broke. "Bill, the only thing we've been doing so far is moving on!"

"We haven't dealt with what's happened. We've been fleeing. That's it." He moved closer to her, feeling her tension vaporizing into a need for closeness. "We have to stop suppressing the pain and the doubt, that's the only way we can move on." He took a deep breath. "Tell me about detention, Laura. Don't lock it up inside of you somewhere. It will destroy you with the time. Share your burden with me. I'm here, I'm listening, and I won't go anywhere. Then in time, we can move past this – together." He pulled her into a tight embrace, locking his own fear away. A fear of not being able to cope with her distress, not being enough for her, of messing it up again. He wished he had airlocked Baltar after all. He hated himself for his misjudgment. While he stood by his claim that the case against Baltar wasn't strong, the man in him who loved Laura Roslin felt ashamed for his actions. He had let her down. He wouldn't do that again.

He held her close, as close as he could possibly hold her without hurting her. He had pulled her onto his lap, her hands resting on his chest. Her body stiff when she told him about the resistance, the suicide bombings, her arrest. She had tried to move on without forgetting. She had seen too many people die. She had faced too many dark truths about what was supposed to be a community of people that stuck together against the Cylons on a run for their lives, when these people – her fellow humans – had turned against them. She had survived. She had choked back many tears, many pains and sorrows. She had toughened up. It had been necessary since the Colonies had been nuked. It had been a painful realization on New Caprica that she hadn't seen and experienced it all by then.

It had been a great relief to feel the tender bond of respect and trust growing into more after they spent those wonderful stress free moments together on the planet – free from responsibility, free of the burden of power, free just to be themselves. It was nice to know that she had a confidant on Galactica. Someone who argued with her while understanding the tough decisions she had to make. It was good to know that she didn't have to face her cancer alone, that he was there, at the other end of the line as well as in person. He tried to protect her. And she had gotten used to that sensation, to his support, to his loyalty. She depended on it. So she sought the protection of his arms when she told him about the fearful days she had spent in detention. About the examinations, the interrogations, the threats. She tried to explain the feelings of insecurity and panic to him, and the thin line between survival and giving up hope.

Bill fought with tears at the thought of having left her behind, of not having been there. He started to caress her, absentmindedly, trying to block the feeling of uneasiness that crawled from his stomach to his heart when he found the courage to form his fear into words.

"Did they..." he choked a wave of panic. "Did they… touch you?"

Laura moved her head from his shoulder to study his face. The pain in his eyes at the mere assumption of sexual abuse re-affirmed in her that he cared for her, deeply - that he would be there for her. No matter what.

She shook her head. "No." And she closed her eyes at the memories. "But the threat was cruel enough."

Bill, losing the struggle against some stubborn tears, placed soft kisses onto her head. His arms wrapped around her form loose enough to allow her to breathe, but tight enough so she felt secure. He whispered onto her hair, his voice breaking and giving away his frame of mind. "Thank the Gods. Oh, thank the Gods."

They sat like that for a while. A bundle of shame protecting a bundle of sorrow. He tried to kiss away her painful memories, wishing he could make up for his misjudgment. The realization that she understood the necessity of his own opinion in the matter increased the ball of self-hatred that formed inside of him. She shouldn't be forgiving him. She shouldn't allow him to soothe her, to kiss her, to shed tears over her memories and his wrong-doing.

He felt how her body stiffened up again, her throat producing a sound of pain that made his skin crawl. It was a suppressed cry. One of her hands holding her head while the other one clang to him, seeking for steadiness and support. It was an attack. The cancer. He had seen her suffer through attacks like that before. It broke his heart to be so helpless. So he moved one arm under her legs, gathering her up in his embrace. He carried her over to his bed, lying her down. He left her for a moment to go to the dining table, pouring some of her Chamalla-enhanced tea into a cup. He returned to her, sitting down by her side, and handed her the tea. With her hands shaking so fiercely, Bill helped her guide the cup to her lips.

He looked at her. His concern and his regret visible in his eyes. "I'm sorry Laura." She closed her eyes, rubbing her neck, enjoying the feeling of her body relaxing to the drugs. "Don't be sorry, Bill. What's done is done. We can't change it anymore."

"How can you be so forgiving about this when I saw how hurt you were only a couple of moments ago?" He shook his head in disbelief.

Laura remained silent for a while. She merely looked at him, her eyes widened by the Chamalla, her mind wide awake. She studied his face, her right hand moving to his leg, caressing his thigh.

"I love you, Bill."

His breathing stopped.

Her hand cupped his face, slowly guiding him towards her, to meet him in a gentle kiss. He tried to move away from her after their kiss broke, but she started to caress his chest, placing soft kisses onto his cheeks and neck.

"Laura, don't.", he managed to whisper with a half steady voice.

She ignored him, unbuttoning the jacket of his uniform, continuing to kiss an exploring path down his neck.

"Laura." Bill tried to stop her. "We shouldn't."

"We shouldn't what, Bill?" she breathed seductively against his skin. "We shouldn't cease the moment? We shouldn't move on?"

He looked at her, choking down a smile that crawled up to his lips at the way she used his words against him now.

"We might regret it."

She chuckled. "No one's ever regretted making love to me. I don't intend you to be the first one."

He gasped, feeling her giggles merging with her kisses. This woman was unbelievable. "I didn't mean it that way." He moaned when her hands continued their tender journey. "You were just in so much pain…"

Laura smiled, her eyes alive and bright again, "I'm fine now, thank the God's for drugs…"

Bill's frown deepened even more, "That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence Laura… I wouldn't want to take advantage of the moment, the drugs..."

Her giggles grew stronger. "Oh Bill, I've been on Chamalla for a while now. I work while on Chamalla, it doesn't alter me THAT much." She caressed his cheek with soft fingers, her tone becoming more serious, "I will be drugged now for the rest of my days." Then she grinned, "And the last time we were both drugged we had a pretty good time, as far as I remember."

He smiled. It was a sad smile that grew into an aroused grin when she tugged at his belt. Laura pulled him into a lingering kiss, openly inviting him to drop his walls, to let her seduce him. "You aren't afraid of making love to a dying woman, are you, Bill?" She spoke those words with ease, without malice and without true anxiety. But those words pinched his heart, cutting into him like daggers. He tried to push the thoughts of her illness away, trying to cope with the present reality of her underneath his body, wanting him. Longing for him. "I don't see you as a dying woman. I see you as Laura Roslin. And I love you, Laura," he moaned as she offered her a passionate kiss.

"Then make me feel alive," she whispered in a deep hoarse voice. "I want to be alive now."

His eyes locked with hers for an intimate moment, tearing up together. He understood. And he started to return her caresses, her kisses, her moans, her sighs, matching her need to be one with him.

He unwrapped her from her clothes, carefully and patiently, grinning like a boy who got his dream present for Colonial Day. He caressed her with his eyes, trying to kiss the scars of her treatments away. Laura indulged in the tenderness of his touch. Her eyes closed, she whispered his name like a mantra to herself, enjoying every kiss he placed onto her skin, every goosebump that formed at the mixture of cold air in the room and his gentle hands on her body.

She opened her eyes again when he removed the last pieces of his garments, smiling at the slight hint of immaturity she believed to detect in his eyes. Her hands, instinctively reaching out to his chest, caressing the long scar in the middle of it. Moving up, she guided him next to her, allowing her lips to start exploring the contours of his body. She returned the tenderness he had begun to spoil her with, her mouth forming into a satisfied smile at the humming sound that escaped his throat, forming into her name. His eyes, locking with hers when she moved him onto his back just to nuzzle up on top of him within seconds. The feeling of the softness of her hair and skin was enough for him to get lost in the moment. And he repeated his love for her. The sound of his name on her lips sent pleasurable shivers down his spine, and he pulled her into an ardent kiss when he switched positions with her again.

Laura felt the pleasure washing over her in waves. The taste of herself on his lips when he kissed her, the sensation of his rejuvenating touch and the sound of his familiar voice triggered feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment to well up within her.

She moaned his name in a deep whisper when visions started to invade her mind. Visions of stars and planets, of rivers and grass, of fresh air on her skin and wind in her face. The sound of laughter in the distance of a walk, the feeling of comfort around her waist. A sun, shining so bright, birds singing in the trees and children playing in the fields. She turned around, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the light, looking up at him. His lips, meeting her for a deep kiss, forming into a smile when she wrapped her arms around him, cuddling up with him. There was no doubt in her heart, no fear, no pain. The world beautiful around them, and peaceful, her heart filled with happiness and love.

Laura snuggled up in his arms when he rested beside her, a joyful sparkle beaming from his exhausted eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, reaching for a blanket to warm them both. He placed soft kisses onto her hair while caressing her waist and hips, reassuring her of his love.

Laura smiled, returning his tender kisses, and drawing circles on his chest with her fingers. Her skin glowing, her eyes vivid, she raised her head to meet his gaze.

"I want you to remember me like that."

Bill looked at her, a knot forming in his stomach as her words sank in. He nodded, trying to push the feelings of uneasiness to the back of his mind. He forced himself to smile.

"So you want me to remember you all sweaty & exhausted?" he said playfully.

She giggled. "Yes. And happy."

He studied the content expression on her face for a moment, trying to imprint the pureness of her beauty in his mind.

Laura pulled him into a soothing kiss. "I've seen Earth."

Bill looked at her, puzzled.

"I had a vision." she continued.

He gave her a skeptical look, asking her for details without forming his question into words.

"I was home." She smiled. "With you."

He returned her smile. Although he wasn't a great believer in the Gods, the prophecies or her visions, he understood what it all meant for her. And he prayed for what it could mean for them if she was right.

The phone interrupted further exploration of the topic when it rang. He caressed her cheek, placing another soft kiss onto her lips before he climbed over her and out of his rack to answer the uninvited call.

"Yes." The Admiral paused. "So you fixed it." He nodded. "Good. Then jump to the coordinates." He shook his head while turning around to send a smile to her. "No, you don't have to wait for me. You know the procedures. I'll inform the President & we'll be on our way."

He hung up, crawling back to his bed, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"They fixed the power fluctuation and are ready to jump to the Ionian Nebula." He whispered onto her skin in between lazy kisses.

"So we should leave." Laura said with frustration.

"I'm afraid so." Bill growled, pulling her back to him when she tried to get up. "But allow me some time to inform you first. I intend to give you a full-length report about this nebula."

She giggled, pulling him into another longing kiss while escaping the tender grip of his arms. She swung her legs out of the bed, getting up for an instant before falling back on the bed again.

Bill, misinterpreting her actions from behind her, moved his hand around her waist, caressing her back. It was only a moment later that he realized that she wasn't feeling well.

Laura gasped and moved her shaking hand to her head, closing her eyes to fight a wave of nausea. She felt his hands on her skin when she fell back onto his sheets. She allowed him to steady her, her sharp intake of breath making him hold her more tightly.

The feeling of her blood pounding in her head, the pain working its way down to her eyes and teeth before it affected every single bone in her body. She tried to control the pain, not wanting to alarm him, but the intensity of the attack overwhelmed her, and she released a moan of agony.

Bill closed the small gap between their bodies, speaking to her with words she wasn't able to comprehend. She felt her body cramping up when the lights went out and they were enveloped by darkness.

"What the frak?" Bill hissed into the blackness. He moved the blanket around Laura's shoulders, trying to give her some comfort and reaching for the left-over tea on the nightstand.

Laura shook her head, waving him off, her head clearing up. "It's ok."

Bill moved around her, blinking his eyes to fully adjust to the darkness. He knelt before her, taking her hands in his, caressing them.

"What happened?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I thought my head would explode, but it's better now." She met his eyes, mirror to his concerned soul. She smiled. "I'm fine, Bill. Really, I'm fine."

He looked at her, trying to find out if she was just trying to calm him down. But she looked fine. So he got up, holding out his hands to help her up as well.

They started to look for their clothes around his quarters, putting on the pieces they found. When the emergency lights switched on, Laura finished buttoning up her blouse, her hands moving to his to assist him with the jacket of his uniform.

He smiled at her, his one hand straightening down her hair while the other one held her close to him, resting on her hip. They shared another intimate kiss before she re-applied her lipstick and stepped back into her shoes.

They left his quarters as Admiral Adama and President Roslin. Their attitude of familiarity, respect and trust visible to everybody who was alert enough to recognize them when they rushed to CIC. They feared that anyone could detect an alteration in their behavior towards each other. But instead, eyes filled with concern & controlled anxiety bore into them. Oblivious to the fact that not only the renewed Cylon attack presented a change to the fleet, innumerable pairs of eyes looked for guidance and orders from the couple of power that had always been more than just the President and her Admiral.

Laura Roslin looked at Bill Adama with her best version of a professional mask when he yelled his orders to his staff. Her mind momentarily distracted by the thoughts of her peaceful vision and the feeling of his skin on hers. She turned her head when Tory approached her from the side, repeating the words Colonel Tigh had just said to her Admiral.

She wondered for a moment why they felt the urgency to renew their vows of commitment now, when another vision overcame her, and she understood.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Laura was sitting in sickbay, protesting against more tests, and needles and monitors.

Doctor Cottle had tried to talk her into relaxing to the necessary treatments, but over time he had grown tired of arguing against her. He ignored her resistance as best as he could, even threatening to tie her down to one of the beds if he had to. Cottle knew that something was going on, something she wasn't willing to talk about. At least not with him.

When she was verbally quiet again for the shortness of moments, he sent one of his nurses to contact CIC. He wanted to see Admiral Adama about this. It was the forth time that the President of the 12 Colonies had drifted off into what he now knew was visions. And she became crankier with any new vision that took her over. Cottle took another blood sample before she almost jumped out of her skin. Her eyes darkened by fear.

"Gods dammit. What is it, young lady?" Cottle murmured in between two cigarettes.

Laura, struggling to get rid of the drip, tried to control her voice, feeling like shouting at him. "Get me off of this!"

"You will remain right where you are, for frak's sake." He gently pushed her back onto the bed. "You're sick. You should rest!"

"Stop treating me like a frakking child or a total nutcase!" Laura frowned, getting up against his orders. "I need to get up. So take your frakking hands off me!"

"What's going on?"

It was William Adama's stern voice that interrupted the scene. He looked at Jack Cottle with a puzzled rather than angry expression on his face, slowly approaching Laura Roslin while closing the curtains around them.

"I'm glad you came down to help me out here." Cottle muttered. "Maybe she'll listen to you."

Bill moved to her bedside, trying to keep his facade intact – the facade of a concerned friend, maybe that of a confidant. Never that of her lover.

His eyes, thick with sorrow and with a question mark right on top of his lips, he sat down and took her hands in his. She immediately calmed down.

He saw the restlessness in her eyes, the pain, the fear. He noticed how she tried to control the shaking of her bones. He knew that she was on the verge of losing it. And if there was one thing he knew she hated beyond anything, apart from receiving pity or sad looks, or feeling helpless and out of control – it was letting down her guard. Bill noticed how drained she was, how weak. She tried to use the energy that was left to keep up the shields she had established around her, to separate the 'person Laura' from the 'politician Roslin'.

"I will take her to my quarters." The Admiral waved off any possible remark Cottle was about to utter. "I will see to it that she will rest. You have my word on that." The doctor shrugged and nodded, giving him two bottles of drugs to calm her down and ease her pain in case of deterioration. He shook his head with a smile when he saw how the President forced herself to her feet, refusing to use a wheel chair. She accepted the steadiness of the Admiral's arms, walking by his side as graceful as ever. She tilted her head to one side when another vision overcame her, holding onto Bill's arms, releasing a stifled moan of uneasiness.

Adama wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her in the best way possible without losing his composure. He walked her to his quarters as soon as her senses had returned to Galactica, and he carried her over to his rack as soon as he had closed & locked the hatch behind them.

She fact that she didn't even protest when he lifted her into his arms, the way she rested her head on his shoulder was reason enough for him to express his concern after he had carefully tugged her under the sheets.

"Laura, what's going on?"

She smiled. It was a tired smile, and one that tried to soothe him, and expressed her gratitude for his presence and care. She closed her eyes for an instant, reaching out for his hands to hold hers. "I don't know. I have these visions." She said with an exhausted voice. "They don't stop. They keep overwhelming me over and over again."

And she lay her head back in the pillows, releasing a groan when another vision blurred her senses.

"Make this stop!" She pleaded when she drifted back to reality, her eyes tearing up, her soul lying bare to him, exposed and vulnerable.

Bill, not being able to suppress the tears that dwelled up in his eyes, caressed her cheeks with shaky fingers. Thoughts racing through his head, concern overruling any sensible idea, he brushed strings of her hair from her tired face and whispered. "I don't know how, Laura."

She merely looked at him. Her eyes losing herself in his, pleading for his closeness.

When the phone rang, they both jumped, startled by the shrieky sound of it in the silence of the room. Bill, wanting to ignore the call, got up to answer it after Laura gently pushed him off the bed to go. He choked down his tears before he moved the receiver to his ear, and managed to speak into it with a comparably steady voice.

"Yes."

It was Colonel Tigh.

"You asked me to inform you about our status, Sir." His voice was loyal and bound to duty.

Adama nodded. "Oh, of course. What about the power fluctuations?"

"We're set to jump again."

"Good." The Admiral replied calmly. "Good."

"We're waiting for your orders, Sir."

William Adama had turned his head to the fragile form of Laura Roslin's, lying on his bed, his answer delayed when he saw that she had obviously drifted into another exhausting vision. "Leave the nebula and jump to the coordinates Apollo has given you."

"Right away, Sir." Saul barked his orders to Gaetar and Dee, returning to the phone again with a friendly voice. "Do you want me to give you a report on our status every hour?"

"Admiral Adama nodded again. "Yes, I will return to CIC as soon as possible."

"How is the President?" Saul Tigh asked quietly.

"Recovering." Bill answered hesitantly.

"I see." The Colonel bowed his head. "Well, give her the news about the jump. That might speed things up a little." He smiled, looking at Tory with a concerned look. "Tigh out."

Bill hung up, fixing himself a quick drink and pouring a cup of Chamalla-enhanced tea in the cup that was still standing on his nightstand. He took her hand in his, noticing how her body had calmed down and she had fallen asleep.

Laura was surrounded by sunlight again. It warmed her skin, tickled her nose, cheered her up. She was lying in fresh green grass, the smell of it enhancing her ease. She felt his arms tugged around her, his breath underneath her head, the steady sound of his heart playing a familiar tune in her right ear. She was at home again. She felt safe.

The laughter of children in a comforting distance reached her other ear, the sky, blue and clear, with only two white fluffy clouds, open and wide. He whispered something to her, but she couldn't hear him. So she sat up, facing him with a smile and meeting him for a lingering kiss. He spoke to her again, but she couldn't hear him. Again. The sky darkened, black clouds covering the sun, rain pouring down on them within seconds. He pulled her up, running to a cabin by a nearby lake. He opened the door and she could hear their laughter, mixing with childish giggles from the inside.

He spoke to her once again, kissing her neck, nuzzling at her ear. Little feet dancing around them, a warming fire in the fireplace and the smell of freshly baked bread creeping to her nose. She turned around, seeing Hera running up the stairs. Six standing outside, looking in through one of the windows, Gaius Baltar standing next to her, his fist trying to break the glass of the window. He held her, trying to protect her, shouting at her with words that still didn't reach her ears. The only thing she could hear was the giggles of Hera and the other children playing inside and outside of the cabin. She ran upstairs, still holding his hand, being two steps before him. When she reached the top of the stairs, Athena held her daughter in her arms, smiling at her.

She turned around in slow motion at the sound of the breaking glass, Baltar running towards her with a weapon in his hands. He was there, shielding her. Protecting her. They fire went out with the wind that blew through the broken window. It was cold from one moment to the next and she lost the grip of his hands.

She saw how he fought for her, falling into an abyss that slowly opened beneath her feet. She tried to escape its pull, but the maelstrom was too strong to be fought. She fell. Her arms trying to steady her fall, the black vortex closing around her, lights exploding around her, almost blinding her after the darkness of the fall. She was lying on a cold marble floor. The opera house. The Final Five looked down on her, larger than life, light enveloping each and everyone of them. Their faces were revealed to her, and she recognized them from her vision on CIC. Saul Tigh smiled at her. The Chief and Sam Anders completed the picture. Tory helped her up and Kara Thrace addressed her with a calm voice.

"You walk among us, and we shall guide you."

Tory smiled at her, Kara being the only one to speak to her.

"You will see the Earth from your visions. But it will not be given to all of you to see your Earth."

Laura tried to speak, but her voice was gone.

"We will welcome you again. And you will understand."

Laura raised her hand, feeling how Tory wrapped it in hers, soothing her.

"You know now who we are. And you understand the difference."

She nodded.

"We mean you no harm. We are here to show you your way home."

Laura nodded again, feeling someone tugging at her sleeve. It was Hera.

Laura was thrown back to reality with the speed of a jump. She noticed the darkness of his quarters around her, his arm loosely tugged around her waist. She felt his breath on her neck when he propped himself up on his elbow, drawing tender circles on her back with his fingers.

He yawned, pulling her down to him again, covering her with his blanket to keep her from getting cold. She turned in his gentle embrace, enjoying the feeling of her hands on her cheeks, caressing her and wiping the perspiration from her skin.

"What is it, Laura?"

She shook her head, hoping that the wouldn't pursue the topic. She closed her eyes, knowing very well that he would.

"No no no, don't shrug me off." He whispered onto her skin in between soft kisses. "I know that something is wrong. What's bothering you?"

Bill moved closer to her, looking for any obvious signs of pain, physical or emotional. He was relieved to find her body relaxed. "Tell me. What is it?"

Laura suppressed some stubborn tears that crawled to the surface, bringing back the feeling of losing control again.

"Is it about your visions?" He asked carefully.

She nodded.

"Did you see Earth again?"

She opened her eyes again, a tear running down her cheek. It was instantly wiped away by his thumb, sending shivers of comfort through her body. "You seemed to be so confident about it the other day. So relieved. So at ease." He was concerned. "What changed?"

Laura looked at him, trying to arrange the words and pictures in her head, trying to form them into sentences.

Bill, seeing her inner struggle, pulled her into a supporting embrace. He held her close enough for her to be able to breathe, providing her a place to hide from her visions.

Her voice was low when she started to whisper against his skin.

"I did see Earth again. But I'm not sure that what I saw was also the 13th Colony."

Bill Adama was confused. "Why are you doubting your first instincts of having seen Earth?"

""I don't know. It was more like a vision of some peaceful haven, a place only I was allowed to see." She gave up fighting her tears, her voice surprisingly steady and calm.

"You said you saw home." He tried to soothe her.

"I did. But what if this was the final home that I saw? The home of my soul?"

Bill shook his head, fighting the grip that he felt tightening around his throat. "Oh no, you said that it felt like our home. And unless I die here with you, in your arms, I don't intend to let you go anywhere without me ever again."

He placed soft kisses onto her hair, fighting the haunting feelings of concern and panic that settled down in his heart. "Laura, I won't let you give in. We won't give up hope. We will find a solution. We will find a cure."

His words, filled with pain and sorrow, had a releasing effect on her. They triggered a wave of cleansing sobs and tears. Her head, buried in his arms, was caressed by his tender hands.

She wished to hide from her illness, from the visions, from the mixed prophecies that messed up her head.

"There's always a way. And we will just not give up hope."

Laura smiled sadly, remembering the words of the woman she had known as Kara Thrace. _But it will not be given to all of you to see your Earth. _

She closed her eyes again, trying to fall asleep again in the safety of his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tom Zarek entered Admiral Adama's quarters. He felt a little uneasy about the location of his one-on-one with the President, but he had agreed to come and see her immediately after it had been possible to transfer to Galactica again. Tory had greeted him and briefed him on Laura Roslin's latest decisions and comments to the press. He believed to detect a change in Tory's attitude, her dedication to President Roslin strong as usual, but on a deep emotional level. So it seemed.

Tom shrugged off the thought the moment they reached the Admiral's quarters. The presidential aide knocked on the hatch, showing him in, handing some papers to the President and excusing herself again, leaving him alone with her in the width of Adama's quarters.

Zarek tried to cover his uneasiness, which was no use in her presence.

She was sitting at the dining table, a pile of files lying in front of her, arranged in a creative chaos. She held a pen between her index and middle finger, toying with it unconsciously. Her glasses, resting on her nose as a reminder of her superiority, were successfully hiding the sleepiness of her eyes.

She smiled.

"Mr. Zarek. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

He moved towards her, accepting the chair she offered him at the other side of the table, facing her.

"I saw the Q & A with the press. I thought I should come see you right away."

Laura nodded. "I'm sorry, Tom. I had planned to inform you prior to the press release."

He answered her with a wry smile. "Well, we both know that things don't always go the way we plan."

She returned his smile. "Unfortunately."

"Now, to what do I owe the honour of being welcomed into the private quarters of the formiddable Admiral Adama?"

Laura Roslin chuckled. "The Admiral was kind enough to offer his quarters to me for the duration of our renewed battle with the Cylons."

Tom Zarek nodded. "I understand. You might have to be present on CIC within minutes."

"Exactly."

"And you're closer to sickbay in case of an emergency." Tom's voice was less professional and more concerned while expressing his last remark. Laura was surprised.

"Are there any rumours about the sudden deterioration of my health already?"

"No, Laura." Tom reassured her. "As far as I know, people strongly support you, and the press didn't dare to release any speculations or comments about your health other than your own."

She was relieved. "Good. There will be rumours soon enough. And I already told Tory that I only want to hear about those we need to comment on."

Tom understood.

"Maybe you shouldn't stay on Galactica too long. People might get suspicious."

"I will discuss this with Bill." President Roslin said while going through the latest papers Tory had handed her.

Tom Zarek looked at her, puzzled for a moment. She had never mentioned the Admiral's first name in his presence before, and he began to wonder whether he should be more concerned about her relationship with the Admiral of the fleet.

"He is concerned about your safety?" Tom asked, hesitantly.

Laura chuckled. "Indeed, he is."

"And your health?" He carefully added.

She nodded.

"Don't you think there's a danger of him getting too close to your presidency?" Tom tried to come up with an argument without asking her directly about her personal life.

Laura Roslin didn't react for a second. She finished signing some papers, took off her glasses and raised her head. She looked at him, her gaze kind but unreadable. "Is there something you wish to ask me, Mr. Vice President?"

Tom swallowed the feeling of knowing what she would say next, asking her bluntly and with a forced smile on his lips. "Is it possible that Admiral Adama has any right to be concerned about you on the deepest of personal levels?"

Laura raised her eyebrows. "Are you asking me if I'm personally involved with the Admiral?"

Zarek met her gaze. "No, Laura. I'm asking you if you are committed to him."

She chuckled, half amused at his choice of words and half covering her disbelief of her Vice President actually suspecting her to have an affair with the military leader of the fleet.

"I'm the Commander-in-Chief, I should be _committed_ to my military, shouldn't I?"

"Don't frak with me, Laura." Tom said calmly. "You know exactly what I mean."

The President held his gaze, smiling and nodding at him. "Alright."

She leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "Can I rely on your discretion?"

Tom nodded, feeling the frog in his throat blocking his breathing. "Of course."

She smiled at him, and although he knew that she wasn't even close to letting down her guard, he saw the woman shining through the presidential aura for the moments of her answer.

"We're close." She paused for a content smile. "Very close."

Tom studied her peaceful expression, and he knew. He had suspected something like that for a while, but he had not been prepared for the twinge that revelation caused in his heart. All those affectionate smiles, the soft brushing of hands, and their loyalty towards each other. Deep inside, he had known, like he expected Tory to know. But hearing it from her lips, spoken with such an amount of love and bliss – it overwhelmed him in the worst of ways.

He tried to suppress his feelings of envy and tender rage towards William Adama, clearing his throat to elegantly change the subject.

"I guess, it's good for you to have some personal support right now." He coughed. "It makes things easier, doesn't it?"

Laura looked at him, not quite sure about what she was witnessing right now. What was going on with Tom? Was it the uneasiness of him knowing that she was sharing her bed with the leader of the military? Or that Tom Zarek despised her lover and was on the verge of jumping out of his skin at the mere thought of them together? She chuckled to herself, wiping that thought away. _Nonsense_, she giggled to herself, accepting Zarek's attempts to move the subject to his extended duties as her Vice President.

It was clear that from now on, he would have to support her more in public. His duties would be increased, his public appearances expanded.

He was prepared for that. And he was prepared to back her up, in meetings and press conferences. He knew that he would have to work closely with Tory Foster as well. She was the presidential aide. Roslin's eyes and ears in situations that were out of reach to her. He knew that Tory wasn't particularly fond of him, but he was willing to try his best to work smoothly with her. After Baltar's acquittal, it was pivotal to be one front against his audacious writing, his denial of guilt and shame.

When they had finished discussing the new fields of his jobs, his expanded duties and burdens, Laura Roslin readjusted her glasses to her slim nose again. She looked at him, her expression serious.

"And then there's one other thing, Tom."

He met her gaze, feeling no need to nod in response to her altered voice.

She spoke softly to him, her voice professional, covering the emotional side of what was the most important issue for her.

"It is clear, of course, that you will inherit full presidential responsibility and jurisdiction as soon as I am unfit for office." She swallowed without losing his gaze.

"Any decision that you see fit for the fleet will be yours from that moment on, with all the consequences."

He nodded.

"Any decision about my health, about my treatments and my death will be in Bill's hands as soon as I'm unable to make my own decisions."

Her voice was steady and calm. There was no hint of fear in it. A stranger might have judged it cold and emotionless, but Tom knew her well enough by now to judge it controlled.

"I signed the papers today. It's better to be prepared."

Tom Zarek nodded.

"I take it that this isn't anyone else's business?"

Laura smiled. "Indeed. This is a private matter with no consequences to my presidency."

"The press might ask." Tom said carefully.

"They did already." The President looked at him with a tiny smile. "_No comment_ is one of my favourite answers to stupid questions."

Tom grinned to himself.

"May I quote you?"

"Any time." She removed her glasses again, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "If you'll excuse for now, Mr. Zarek. I have an appointment with some medication."

Zarek nodded, getting up along with her.

He turned around when he heard the hatch opening behind him. It was Admiral Adama who entered his quarters. Tom nodded his head to greet him, excusing himself from the room.

"Madame President. Admiral."

He turned around again, wishing to mention his _concern_ about Tory Foster, when he saw the Admiral engaged in an intimate conversation with the President. His one hand gently rested on her lower arm while the other moved to her cheeks. Laura smiled at him in her warmest of ways, obvious to Tom Zarek's sad stare. Tom left without interrupting them, closing the hatch silently, a feeling of sadness nestling in his heart.

A few moments later, Laura Roslin was sitting on the couch. Her feet tugged underneath her, her jacket lying loosely on one of his chairs, she had made herself comfortable. Bill was running back and forth in his quarters, pouring two glasses of wine and serving the starters for dinner. They exchanged some words about her meeting with her Vice President, about the absence of the Cylons after their jump to the coordinates Apollo had passed on to them, and about the delightful fact that she had not been haunted by any visions since they had left the nebula.

When Bill served the last dishes and two napkins, his eyes caught a piece of paper on the dining room table. He went over to his table to have a quick look at it, seeing her pen lying on top of it.

"What's this?" He asked calmly, raising the formal paper to his eyes, looking for his glasses to have a closer look at it.

Laura had started to reach for an olive, shoving it into her mouth with a graceful hand, reaching for her glass of wine with the other.

"That's a declaration I'd like you to sign."

Bill scanned the piece of paper and sat down next to her. Laura took one of the napkins from his hands, and placed the rest of the dishes on the table, trying to cover her uneasiness.

"This is a legal document." Bill whispered.

"I know." Laura answered, matching his volume.

"You want me to decide when to switch off your life support?"

She nodded, preparing herself for an uncomfortable discussion. "Amongst other things."

He just sat there for a moment, staring at the paper in his hands. Laura sipped at her wine, her fingers playing with the glass to cover her state of nervousness. The silence in the room was deafening for a moment, both not able to find the right words to break it.

Laura sat her glass down on the table, and moved her hand to his shoulder, gently caressing it when she witnessed how he quietly signed the document with her pen.

When he was done, he put it on the table and turned around to face her.

"Laura, I want you to move in with me."

She stared at him for a moment, uncertain about her own reaction.

He looked into her eyes, deeply connecting to her soul. He wasn't asking her because he was afraid, he was asking her because he wanted to. And she smiled, her lips forming into one of those tender smiles that slowly moved over her classic features and into her eyes.

"Bill, we shouldn't rush things."

He chuckled. "Rush things."

He placed his hands onto hers, feeling how she moved closer to him.

"Laura, I don't intend to rush things. But I intend to enjoy every precious moment with you."

Her smile broadened.

"Bill, we still have our responsibilities, and I should return to Colonial One eventually."

He nodded.

"You should return to your office eventually, that's right."

"Bill, you can't protect me all the time." She placed a soft kiss onto his lips.

"I don't want to protect you, Laura. I want you to be by my side." He returned her kiss.

"I want to wake up with you. I want to be there for you. And I don't want to hide my feelings any longer."

Laura met his gaze. He was sincere. He meant it.

"We can't just do this, Bill."

"Why not?" He caressed her cheek. "I know, I was the one talking about our responsibilities and the need to distance ourselves from personal feelings."

She raised her eyebrows, biting her lip and nodding her head.

"I know, but that's nonsense. I'm tired of waiting for Earth. How are we supposed to find the 13th Colony when we are all edgy and dissatisfied and distracted?" He kissed her again.

"Laura, I can't help it. I love you. I sure didn't plan this to happen, but it did. And you were the one who acted on that attraction between us."

She raised her eyebrow at his remark, more in bemusement than in protest.

"I want to share my life with you. On a daily basis. And you just asked me to make viable decisions for you in case of you losing your capacity to make your own decisions. Please allow me to be there for you on the good days as well."

Laura Roslin looked at him, studying his features, diving into the depth of his eyes before she answered him.

"Alright, Bill. I'll move in with you. Under one condition."

Bill raised his eyebrows, more in mockery than in doubtful anticipation.

"Don't expect me to be your little wifey." Laura paused. "I won't smile, nod and agree with you. I won't clean up your mess. Ok? And I won't tell you how much to drink."

Bill chuckled slightly.

"I drink as much as I like, and I take as much Chamalla as I like. I won't dress differently. I dress the way I like and that's it. Alright?"

Bill's chuckle stiffened.

"I like to wake up slowly. No alarm going off and I'll jump out of bed." She shook her head. "Oh, and I hate elaborate breakfasts – unless it's brunch in bed."

She smiled. "I just like to be myself, ok?" She paused again without letting him cut in. "I hate doing dishes. I might be showering at 2 o'clock in the morning. I fall asleep on the couch sometimes. And I like to cook, but only when I'm in the mood for it. I don't do surprise guests well. Just inform me 5 minutes in advance and I'll be fine."

She cleared her throat. "I might be up reading in the middle of the night. I might wake you to make love to me. I might enjoy you being in control, and then I might like to take control over you instead. It depends on my mood."

She went on, frantically. "I like to eat healthily, and then there are days when I do all the junk stuff. So don't lecture me, ok? And I'm pissed sometimes. Let me be pissed then. Just don't try to soothe me with words." She paused again. "Oh, and I'm into exclusives. So if you want this, expect me to be all over you, emotionally. I like to feel like no strings attached, but I don't act like it. I'm all touchy-feely about a relationship. And I don't react well to being hurt."

She hardly gave him time to think, going on immediately. "Bill, I'm not easy to deal with, and I've lived on my own for too long. Just give me my space, and I'll give you yours. Just don't get in my way, ok?"

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes containing a bemused sparkle. "Are you done?"

She blushed and covered an embarrassed giggle with a contrived look that reminded him of a disapproving headmistress, shrugged and nodded.

Bill, moving towards her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a lingering kiss.

"Laura, I want you just the way you are. Complex, beautiful and strong. I want you to know that you can be yourself around me. Let go." He paused" "I might need some time to get used to this. Us. But that's an adventure I'm very much looking forward to."

He kissed her again.

"You never failed to surprise me, and I don't expect this to change by sharing my life with you. Just let me be there for you. That's all I'm asking for."

He looked deep into her eyes, kissing her tenderly.

"Let me love you, Laura."

Laura Roslin smiled at him, facing one of the few moments in her life when she was speechless. And she indulged in the tender treatment he began to shower her with, placing soft kisses onto her skin and unwrapping her from her clothes. She lay back on the couch, taking him with her, closing her eyes when he repeated his words in a whisper. And she giggled at the ticklish feeling his words produced on her skin, allowing herself to take the risk of letting herself fall into him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lee Adama locked the hatch to his father's quarters when he entered. Files in hand, he walked over to the dining room table, and placed the documents on it. He looked around, his eyes scanning the room for Admiral Adama's presence. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Dad?" Lee asked calmly, continuing to look for his father.

He sneaked into the bedroom, astonished to find his rack messed up and unmade. He knocked at the bathroom door, believing to have heard a sound from behind the door.

"Dad? Are you there?"

He knocked again.

"I brought the files you asked for."

"Just put them on my desk, son." Bill's mumbled voice answered from the inside.

"Sure." Lee gave back with a smile.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" The reply came after a beat.

"Are you alright?"

Lee waited for an answer. Just before he felt the urge to knock again, the door was opened far enough for the Admiral to sneak through.

"I'm fine, Lee." Bill said calmly, closing the belt of his trousers.

He took his son's arm, and guided him out of the bedroom. Apollo's face mirrored his inner confusion as his father pushed him towards the hatch.

"Dad?" Lee chuckled. "Am I _interrupting_ anything?"

The grin on his face was challenging and cheeky, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Maybe you should come back again later." Bill urged him to drop the issue.

"I do have an appointment with the President in 15 minutes. I figured I could stay and wait for her with you."

Bill closed his eyes. He had forgotten to ask Laura about her scheduled meetings for the day when he had made the quick call to CIC to ask Saul to send Apollo over to bring his reports about his flight.

"Frak." Bill muttered to himself.

"What?" Lee answered, his face displaying plain irritation at the sight of his father's uneasiness. Bill Adama closed his eyes for another second, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He moved towards the couch, inviting his son to sit with him.

"Lee, there's something I wish to talk to you about." His throat was dry and his voice hoarse. "It's about Laura Roslin."

Lee Adama sat next to his father, expecting him to share bad news with him about her state of health.

Bill cleared his throat, "I asked Laura to move in with me."

Apollo's answer was calm and quick. "That makes sense for the time of the Cylon attacks." He nodded. "And it should make things easier for her treatments."

Bill looked at his son, confusion reflected in his eyes, a chuckle born in his throat at the sound of his son's continued thoughts.

"I think it's very nice of you to offer to share your VIP quarters with the President. Not only for the one-on-ones. I know you've come to care for her as family."

Bill's chuckle grew into a hearty laugh when he saw Laura emerging from what was now their bedroom. She was wrapped in his bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel, her feet bare on the ground. She looked at him, a bemused sparkle dancing in her eyes when he waved her over.

Lee, astonished about the easiness of her behavior around his father, choked when he witnessed the President of the 12 Colonies leaning in to kiss the Admiral of the fleet. A kiss tender and longing, proof of a bond of affection and love. His eyes grew even wider when he saw how she took Bill's hands in hers, sitting next to him on the couch. His father's arms wrapped around her waist immediately, hugging her close.

"Did you tell him?" Laura whispered into Bill's ear in her low voice mixed with a mild giggle.

Bill, pulling her into another kiss, returned her giggles. "I think he's still processing the information."

Lee Adama blinked a few times, taking in the atmosphere of trust and joy, the easiness of the couple sitting in front of him, oozing satisfaction. His eyes fixed on his father's hand lovingly tugged around Laura Roslin's waist, caressing her absentmindedly.

Lee nodded, "I see."

"Well, good then." Bill answered slowly.

He placed another soft kiss onto his lover's lips, and got up. "I should finish dressing now and head to CIC."

Laura smiled, getting up along with him. "And I should get ready for my meeting with Major Adama, too. Or rumor will have it that the President of the Colonies is too sick to get ready for duty."

Bill returned her smile and sneaked into the bedroom to grab the top of his uniform. He put it on and began to button it up in front of his son.

With the President busy in the bathroom again, Lee rediscovered his voice.

"You look happy."

"I am happy. Thank you." Bill returned with a content smile. "We are happy."

Lee nodded. "I can see that."

He paused for another instant. "When did...? I mean, how...?" He shrugged, obviously unable to find the right words.

"It's only been a couple of days, if that's what you wished to ask. And it began with a kiss." Bill answered slowly, his eyes absent, his mind lost in the memory of his first tender kiss with Laura Roslin.

Lee nodded again, words still lost on him, his lips forming into a broad smile.

Bill patted his shoulder when he left, wishing him a nice day.

When Laura re-entered the living space of her new quarters, she was all President Roslin. Her well-shaped body wrapped in one of her presidential suits, her blouse revealing some maddening cleavage, her hair falling on her shoulders in waves, embellishing her face.

She tried to hide the sparkle of joy in her eyes, but it was no use. Laura smiled gently and sat down at the dinner table, inviting Lee to sit opposite to her. Pointing to the files she asked, "What's this?"

"My father asked me to bring my reports on my recent flight experiences."

"Your visions." Laura said calmly, and he nodded.

"May I?"

She opened the files to have a closer look at his reports.

"I thought you had seen this already." Lee said with a slight touch of irritation in his voice.

The President shook her head. "No. I was only briefed about them."

She was silent for a while, reading his reports thoroughly.

"Kara Thrace didn't return to Galactica. What do believe you have seen?"

Major Adama looked at her, observing how she continued to go through his reports. There was no smile on her lips, no chuckle caught in her throat. She was fully concentrated, her eyes sparkling through her glasses, fixed on the words before them.

"I think that I saw Kara, and that she had a message for me." His words were steady and calm, his voice filled with warmth… and slight longing.

"Do you believe that you saw Kara Thrace or do you believe to have received a message from the Gods?"

Laura looked up from his reports, her green eyes looking right into him.

"The Gods?" Lee asked carefully.

Laura, ignoring the subtle tone of disbelief in his voice, continued to look deep into his eyes. "You believe that Kara sent you a message."

Lee nodded.

"So you think that she's dead."

He shook his head. "No, I can't describe or explain it, but I believe that she is still alive."

Laura nodded. "I see."

Lee studied her face for a while before he raised his voice again to speak to her. "There's something you are not telling me."

And she smiled at him. It was one of her superior smiles. One of those that put her opposition back into 2nd place, making clear that she was the President.

"What is it about Kara that I don't know?" Lee's voice became more insistent.

Laura studied him for a beat of silence. When she spoke to him again, her voice was crisp and clear.

"I rely on your discretion, Captain Apollo."

Lee smiled at the way she used his former title against him again. And he detected the same vulnerability in her eyes now as in court, when he had cross-examined her on the witness stand.

"Of course." Lee mumbled.

"Do you believe in the prophecies? In the existence of the Final Five and their function to guide us?"

She didn't wait for him to answer, seeing the doubt in his features already. "I have seen them, Lee. I know who they are, and I believe that they will help us to find Earth."

Major Adama looked at her for endless minutes, trying to put her words in perspective. Could she possibly mean Kara to be one of the Final Five? Was she accusing her of being a Cylon, of fogging his mind? Or was she assuming that her visions were somehow related to his – that they were part of a greater whole? That they would be the ears to the voices of the Gods. That they would lead the survivors of humanity to the 13th Colony?

Lee smiled.

In a way, it wasn't too much of a problem for him to see Laura Roslin as a Prophet. That was a thought he'd grown accustomed to during her first term. Him however – picturing himself as a part of a universal prophecy didn't really appeal to him. And he closed his eyes at the memory of the President feeling uneasy about being worshipped and referred to as a religious leader.

He nodded, and he began to understand.

Apollo looked at her, seeing a distressed expression on her face, her hands cupping the left side of her head. He wanted to get up to ask her what was wrong. He didn't have to. Within the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by light, a pounding feeling rising in his head. He tried to adjust his eyes to the brightness, holding his hand before his head to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He found himself in an opera house, four veiled people standing on a balcony, looking down on him. Laura was at the other end of the opera house, standing on another balcony. Her mouth moving, producing sounds and words he was unable to grasp. Lee turned around when he felt a presence right next to him. Although surrounded by warm light, he still recognized the familiar features of Kara Thrace. She smiled at him, offering him her hand.

Laura looked down on Lee. She tried to call his name, but her voice was lost on her, only existing in her head. She observed how Lee took Kara's hand and disappeared as suddenly as he had entered the scenery of her vision.

She looked over to the other balcony, the Final Five opening the circle they had formed around Hera. They sent the girl over to her, holding her mother's hand. When Athena stood in front of her, she smiled, and Hera stretched her arms up to be held. Laura reached down to wrap her in her arms, the sound of her childish chuckles music to her ears.

When Laura's mind jumped back to the reality and the surroundings of Galactica, Lee stared at her. He got up, words unnecessary between them. He moved towards the hatch, his eyes never leaving hers until he closed the hatch behind him from the outside.

Laura sat still for a while before she got up to head to sickbay. When she arrived, Doctor Cottle was waiting for her already. A lit cigarette hanging loosely in the corner of his mouth, it looked as if he carried the tiniest of a satisfied smile on his lips. Sharon Agathon emerged from behind the curtain he was standing in front of, giving her a cool smile. She moved to the side to reveal her daughter to the eyes of the President. Hera was tugged on one of the med beds, tugged under sheets and attached to monitors and a drip.

Laura looked at Lt. Agathon, her eyes giving away the concern she felt for the little girl.

"Is she alright?" Laura asked carefully.

Athena nodded, inviting her to step to her daughter's bedside.

"She will be fine. Thank you."

Dr. Cottle showed the President over to the free bed next to Hera Agathon's, indicating to her to sit down. His cigarette still resting between his lips, the CMO muttered morosely.

"Lt. Agathon has good news for you, Madame President."

Laura tilted her head to the side, looking at Sharon's friendly face.

"Madame President." She started hesitantly. "I spoke to Helo about this, and we came to the conclusion that we shouldn't deny you another blood transfusion to raise your stakes for a recovery."

Laura was irritated for a moment, and speechless. She looked at Cottle for a beat, her eyes meeting Athena's shortly after, unwilling to believe the words she believed to just have heard. A _why_ was evident in her eyes, but Laura was unable to mouth it.

"Helo wasn't too fond of this idea, but I convinced him to give in after all."

Laura bowed her head.

"What do you expect me to do for you in return?" Her voice was calm, with a hint of mild skepticism.

Sharon smiled and shook her head.

"Helo wanted to attach this gesture to a condition or a bargain. But I disapproved."

"The vision." Laura interrupted her. And Athena nodded.

Laura paused for a moment. Then she continued thoughtfully, "You don't have to do this."

"You didn't ask. You didn't order us to help you." Sharon looked into her eyes. "It's the right thing to do."

Laura Roslin turned her head, looking at Hera. "Is she in pain?"

Jack Cottle shook his head. "She's not. You'll both be fine."

He moved closer to her, urging Laura to lie down.

"And now, young lady, we'll start with your Diloxin treatment."

He raised his hand, cutting her off.

"Uh. Before you protest, and _I know_ that you will." His tone of voice was more ironic than annoyed. "It's important to continue with the Diloxin until further notice. You were cured by the last blood transfusion, but only temporarily. We hope to grab your cancer by its balls this time. Shooting from two angles, we should be able to airlock the roots of your disease."

Cottle prepared her for the injections, treating her as gently as he could.

"And if you'll cooperate for a change, things should work out perfectly fine, young lady."

Laura gave him a playful grin. "Yes, Sir."

The relief was visible in her giggly voice, and destroyed the aura of presidential protest she had tried to put on.

"By the way." Jack continued. "You seem to have found the right dosage of Chamalla after all. You are much more relaxed and bearable than the last time. I take it, the Admiral took my advice, took control and is taking good care of you now."

Laura blinked her eyes, suppressing a devilishly sexy smile, her mind dancing back to her and Bill's shower that morning, and giggled.

"Yes, indeed he does."

The smirk Cottle gave her suggested he knew just what she was thinking. The glint in his eye told her he approved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

In CIC, Admiral Adama looked at the monitors and listened to the voices of the Viper pilots. It was pivotal for the fleet to be alert enough not to miss any hints of a possible Cylon trap.

Bill was standing next to Saul Tigh who was determined to _kick those Cylon asses_ at their next involuntary rendezvous point. Growling something in the direction of the monitors, the Colonel shook his head and sipped at his coffee. He hadn't drunk so much as a sip of alcohol since he had found out that he was supposed to be a _frakking _Cylon himself. What confused him even more was the visions he had begun to have, and that Laura Roslin was a constant variable in them.

Bill Adama looked at his XO, wondering what was going on behind the mask of soberness and control Saul Tigh had put on. He was worried. First the music he had told him he heard in the ship. Then the way he had lost it on the witness stand, and now his unusual commitment and sense of servitude.

Bill looked around for a moment before he addressed his friend calmly, "Saul, I'd like to see you in my ready room for a moment if you don't mind."

The Admiral assigned Lieutenant Gaeta the Bridge.

Tigh looked up at him, and nodded. He followed the Admiral into his office, and sat down.

"What is it?" Saul asked simply.

"I'm asking you." Bill returned quietly.

Saul Tigh looked at his friend for a moment, seeing the concern behind his eyes. "I'm fine, Bill."

"You're sober." Adama remarked.

"I am." Saul confessed.

Bill looked into his eyes. He hoped to find an answer to the feeling of uneasiness that formed inside his head.

"When was the last time you've been sober?"

Saul looked at him, trying to find the right words to reply to his friend's question. He had tried to come up with the perfect combination of words in the last couple of days, wishing to explain what was going on, hoping to be able to share the burden of knowing what he was, feeling like a traitor to the Admiral, to the fleet and to himself.

Bill Adama still looked at him, waiting for his comeback when Lt. Gaeta interrupted the scene.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sirs. But we have a situation." His voice was trembling.

Saul Tigh rushed back to CIC after receiving a nod from the Admiral.

"What happened, Lieutenant?" Bill asked calmly.

"Sir, it's the Major."

Bill's eyes went wide. He didn't like the subtext he was reading. He didn't like it at all.

"He isn't supposed to be on duty."

"I know, Sir." Gaeta stuttered.

Adama rushed to the centre of CIC, waving his orders to Dualla to put him through to his son.

"Apollo! What the frak do you think you're doing out there?"

There was silence.

Bill exchanged looks with Dee who assured him that the line was established.

"Apollo!"

There was another moment of silence before Major Adama's voice came over the speakers.

"I'm fine, Dad. I think I understand it now."

Bill looked at Saul, receiving a shrug and a look of concern.

"Apollo. Return to Galactica immediately."

There was no answer.

"That's an order!"

"I can see it, Dad." Lee answered after a beat.

"What the frak?" Bill murmured to himself.

"Apollo!"

"It's alright, Dad. Everything's going to be alright."

And with that the line was dead.

"LEE!" Bill barked , but there was no other reply. He stared at the monitors for endless seconds before receiving a message from Lt. Gaeta.

"Sir, there's an incoming message from the viper."

"What is it?" Tigh growled.

Gaeta put it on the screen, "It's coordinates, Sir."

In sickbay, Laura was resting after her Diloxin treatment. She felt sick to her stomach and tried to fight a hammering headache. Her eyes closed, she hoped for a relaxing nap when another vision overcame her.

She was standing in the opera house again, the Final Five forming a circle around her. Their faces revealed to her, she looked at each and every single one of them, hoping to find her answers.

The woman she had known as Kara Thrace spoke to her in a soft voice.

"Your home is near. You will guide humanity to the place called Earth."

Laura was perplexed. The hope she had felt at the prospect of another blood transfusion turned into numbness.

"You will see your home, prophet. And you will share it."

Laura Roslin turned around when the circle opened around her.

She saw the house and smelled the freshly cut grass from her earlier visions.

"Is this Earth?", she asked.

And Kara nodded.

"It is your Earth. It's not the Earth for everybody in your following."

Laura blinked. She was confused.

"Not everybody will see your Earth, prophet."

Laura wished to ask what she meant, but the pictures of her home blurred and she saw Lee in his viper instead.

"He will lead the way for you to follow." Kara said soothingly.

And she walked over to Lee, resting her hands on his shoulders, whispering into his ears.

Captain Apollo nodded and after the world fell silent around them, he was enveloped by blinding light.

"NO!"

Laura started from her vision causing Doctor Cottle to rush to her side.

"What the frak?" he muttered.

Laura looked at him in frenzy.

She was covered in sweat, her fingers shaking as she tried to get rid of the drip.

"Hold your horses, young lady." Cottle tried to calm her, "You're not going anywhere!"

Laura Roslin looked at him, sadness mirrored in her eyes.

"I need to get to CIC."

Jack stared at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes, "You should rest, young lady."

She shook her head, insisting on being released from her drip, her eyes wide, her features undeniably determined.

"Alright. But I urge you to go with the drip."

He put his hand in the air, stopping any possible comeback of protest, "They all know about your illness. There's no need to be vain now."

She tried to come up with a smile, but her face was numb.

She fought her way out of the med bed and steadied herself on the drip. She swallowed a feeling of nausea that threatened to overcome her, and took one step after the other. She walked out of sickbay, shoulders straight, her head held up, her legs shaky at first but controlled within seconds.

On her way to CIC, Laura felt like pausing several times. She ignored the urge and reached CIC as fast as she possibly could.

When she entered it, she found CIC in relative silence.

Saul Tigh arranged darts on the star chart. Lt. Gaeta worked frantically at his computers.

Her eyes scanned the room.

Bill was nowhere to be found.

When Saul spotted her attendance, he walked over to her to brief her on the situation at hand.

His words never reached her ears. Her head was nodding, her eyes continued to look for the Admiral's whereabouts. She spotted him in his ready room, sitting at his desk, staring into nothingness.

Laura walked over to him, cutting off the Colonel in the middle of his report.

Tigh's eye followed her steps, and he saw how she approached Bill Adama, and sat down next to him.

Laura took his hands into hers, and he accepted the gesture of tenderness. He didn't look at her for a while. They didn't speak. Tears welled up in her tired eyes, and she was too exhausted to fight them.

She lowered her head, and closed her eyes, inhaling sharply to suppress a sob. The expression on his face cut deep into her soul. She knew exactly how he was fighting from falling apart.

After a comforting eternity of silence, Bill turned his head to meet her gaze. She looked up at him again, crying more at the sight of his flooded blue eyes.

He wanted to soothe her. She wanted to soothe him. They both knew it. And yet a moment of quiet was the only way for them to handle this.

After a while, Bill brought his fingers to her cheeks to wipe away her tears. She closed her eyes again and mouthed _I am sorry_ without speaking the words he didn't have to hear. He began to fold his arms around her, carefully finding his way around the drip to not hurt her.

They held each other like that for a while, oblivious to the actions on CIC and Tigh's orders to leave them alone.

Bill allowed a tear to escape the corner of his eyes when he whispered softly into her ear, "Laura, please. Promise me you will stay with me a while longer."

Laura answered him with a sad smile, "I will do my best."

She buried her head in his neck when he placed a deep kiss on hers.

"That's all I ask." he whispered with a broken voice, "I just couldn't handle losing you now."

She hummed her understanding onto his skin and held him closer.

She would tell him later, she decided.

And she comforted him for the time that remained before they had to readjust their professional masks again, making decisions for the fleet and the welfare of the human race.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Laura closed the hatch behind them after they had entered their quarters again. With only some boxes still lying around, the rooms looked almost perfect again. Her belongings had found places on his shelves and in every corner of the quarters. Her books rested next to his, her clothes had found space in his closet and drawers, and her scent was mixing with his. The bathroom was stuffed with little bottles and bags and pots. Two tooth brushes leaning against each other, two razors in the shower, and two bathrobes hanging at the door. Curlers, make-up, nail polish, her bracelets and a necklace lying next to his things as if it had never been any different.

She had settled in. And he welcomed it.

With Lee's death, the press had not dared to make too big a deal out of the President moving in with the Admiral of the fleet. And there had not even been a discussion with Tory. Nor with Saul or Zarek.

They had informed them individually about the new state of their relationship. They had not wished to make a fuzz about it.

And their wish had been granted.

Tory had remained calm. As calm as Laura had remained when they had discussed the state of their work relationship after knowing that one of them was a Cylon. They had come to the conclusion not to share this information, and that one of the Final Five should remain at the side of the prophet, as well as at the side of the military leader of the fleet.

Bill, after having been informed about his XO being one of the Final Five had also remained calm, merely uttering "I figured as much." after Laura had told him about her visions already.

He had not wished to allow feelings of betrayal or doubt cloud his mind. Not only had Saul proven to be a faithful friend in recent years, the way he had told him had also assured Bill of his allegiance to the fleet and to him personally.

Zarek had protested more with his body language than with words. But he had respected their wish to handle _the matter_ discretely after all. She had not seen much of her Vice President since. He had been at the commemoration though, paying his respects to Kara Thrace and Lee Adama.

He had also attended the briefings about the importance of the data Apollo had transferred to Galactica before his ship had exploded. Apart from that, he had avoided her. And even more so, he had avoided the Admiral.

Nothing of that mattered now in the privacy of their quarters. By locking the hatch, Laura decided to shut out the rest of the fleet for a change. She needed to be alone with him. She needed to talk to him. She needed to let him know that he could allow his feelings to surface now.

With the jump to Apollo's coordinates plotted for the following day, they had the entire night to themselves.

Colonel Tigh was in charge of CIC, holding the Cylons at bay as long as he would have to without disturbing the Admiral. He had agreed on that with the President.

Tory had re-arranged some of her meetings to after the jump, or she had put some of those of lesser importance onto Tom Zarek's shoulders.

With her treatments showing positive results after all, Laura felt lively again. As lively as she could under the circumstances. She was awake, and she was doing comparably well. Her headaches were gone, and her steps were considerably lighter than a couple of days ago.

Bill on the other hand was functioning on auto control. They had barely spoken a word since Lee's death. She had accepted his need for her silent company.

He sought her closeness and her comforting embrace, but hadn't cried a single tear since the day of Lee's death.

Tonight, she was determined to try to speak to him about it. To tell him that he didn't have to burden himself with feelings of guilt for something he could not possibly have changed.

So she walked over to him. He had sat down on the couch, his eyes absent, his one hand wrapped around a glass of Ambrosia, the other entangling with hers as soon as she rested next to him.

He sipped at his drink, and set it down on the table before he pulled her into a needy embrace. Laura closed her eyes, inhaling his scent. She felt how he pulled her closer and closer to him until she was fully wrapped around him, sitting partly on his lap. She noticed how he clung to her, his body tense and in desperate need for closeness.

She placed a tender kiss onto his neck, and started to unbutton the jacket of his uniform to shrug off his title and position in the secrecy of their quarters.

Sooner than she had expected, the tears overcame him. They were as intense as she had known they would be. There was no holding back for him for a couple of moments. He let loose, and she was glad to feel how he was at ease with her presence. Bill absorbed the strength she offered him. She was his shoulder to cry on, his lap to bury his face in, his rock in those hard times.

She let the tears dwell, soothing him. No other words spoken than his name in silent whispers, soft as the humming of a bird. They sat like that for a while, until his tears dried and he looked up to meet her gaze, wiping away the tears that had flooded her own face. He smiled at her. It was a sad smile, but one that assured her of his gratitude. She returned his smile and placed a soft kiss onto his salty dry lips.

To her surprise, he returned her kiss with less gentleness than she had anticipated. His tongue began to explore her mouth with a fierceness that overwhelmed her, and his hands began to move over her body with a needy haste.

Laura, caught off guard in the sense that she hadn't expected him to seek passion as a healing device, soon adapted to his pace, and welcomed his longing for her. She removed his jacket and slid her hands under his shirts, tugging them off within seconds.

Bill had started to unbutton her blouse with impatient fingers, knowing that she would fume if he would react to the impulse of just ripping the buttons off. As soon as he had freed her from the blouse, Laura undid her bra with one movement of her thumb and index finger, allowing him to remove it.

The kisses he placed on her skin increased her desire to lie back, and he willingly moved down on top of her, pressing her into the rough softness of his leather couch.

Bill felt how her skilled fingers worked on his belt, opening it within a blink of an eye, moving towards his zipper. Smiling at her high level of arousal, an intensity that met his own, he helped her to get rid of the rest of their unwelcome garments.

He felt her kisses inflaming his skin, her moans becoming lower and hoarse when he nuzzled her ear and darted his tongue across her flesh. It was the first time that she had dug her fingernails into his back, and she arched against him, sooner than usual, wishing to be one with him. Bill whispered his love for her against her skin when he merged with her, releasing a deep moan along with the sound of her name on his lips.

Laura wrapped her legs around his hips, finding an intense and slow rhythm with him to drive them over the edge. With a song of release freed from his throat, his lips captured hers again for a deep kiss, and he lay half on top of her, indulging in the softness of her skin pressed to his and her warmth enveloping his body.

It was a while later that they moved to the bedroom to seek the comfort of their bed. Bill didn't hesitate to wrap their naked bodies in one of their blankets, pulling her as tight to him as possible. Her head resting in the crook of his arm, her breasts pressed against his chest and her legs entwined with his, she assured him of her love between tiny kisses.

And they fell asleep in each others arms only moments later.

When Laura opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by light. Kara Thrace stood over her, enveloped by brightness, her voice echoing in Laura's head.

"Your home is near now, prophet."

And within milliseconds, she was thrown back into the darkness of her quarters, feeling Bill's protecting touch around her waist. He moved slightly in his sleep, muttering a tired, "You ok?" onto her forehead.

"Yes," she whispered back, cuddling up closer to him.

"Go back to sleep."

And so they did.

The next morning, Laura woke to the smell of coffee and ham.

She blinked her eyes, noticing that she was wrapped around his pillow instead of his body. When she looked up, her ears hearing silent footsteps and the sound of china clicking against china, she met his amused gaze.

He carried a salver in his hands, two napkins thrown over his shoulder, a smile on his lips and a glow in his eyes.

"Do I have to be jealous?" He chuckled, pointing to his pillow in the comfort of her arms.

She giggled, and tilted her head to the side. "Maybe..."

"Well," he set the salver on the bed, and carefully crept under their sheets again, removing the pillow from her embrace. "This pillow is sure more comfortable than I am, but does it bring breakfast?"

Laura instantly snuggled up with him.

"I wouldn't even say that it's more comfortable." She smiled, pointing at the salver. "What's this?"

"You sure have been on Colonial One too long if you don't know what _breakfast in bed_ is anymore."

And he pulled her into a lingering kiss, "I wanted to spoil you with some of the luxery items I managed to keep locked away."

Laura looked at him. Her face calm, her eyes caressing every inch of his morning face covered with stubbles.

"You are skeptical about the success of our _mission_ today?"

He nodded.

"I am." And he pulled her into another lingering kiss before he poured some coffee in one cup and some tea into another one, handing it to her.

"You know that I've never been a great believer in the prophecies or the scriptures."

He lips formed into a tender smile.

"Would it help you to know that I had another vision last night?"

He looked at her, inhaling the sense of optimism she oozed while speaking those words.

"Our home is near, Bill. I am certain of it."

He studied her peaceful expression, seeing the sparkle of hope that had nestled in her gaze.

"We shall see," he whispered against her skin when he placed a soft kiss against her neck.

They had a quiet breakfast, feeding each other, enjoying the safety of each other's arms. They exchanged memories from the 12 Colonies, anecdotes of boring meetings and some hearty laughter.

The duty call came too soon.

Bill had asked Saul Tigh to ring him at 08:00, to give them a late start into that historic day. Bill Adama answered the phone with a chuckle stuck in his throat, causing his XO to growl in the receiver.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Laura giggled at the sight of Bill's reaction. He was making a face, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"I asked you to, Saul."

"Damn right you did." Tigh returned. "And now stop frakking the President, and come to CIC. You might not want to miss this day." And with that, he hung up.

Half an hour later on CIC, Saul Tigh eyed the couple when they entered the room. There was nothing to be witnessed except the professional auras of the Admiral of the fleet and the President of the 12 Colonies.

They joined him at the center of the bridge, watching the monitors and checking the current situation. With no unusual incidents interrupting their scheduled jump, Admiral Adama gave the order to follow the lead Apollo's coordinates had given.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

With the jump completed, Bill Adama stared at the monitors, his hand slightly brushing against the delicate fingers of Laura Roslin. He felt the room move in slow motion as he saw Laura begin to fall, reaching out to grab his hand.

His instinctive reaction had him rushing over to her, grabbing her gently, steadying her fall against his body. He slid his hands under her legs and around her back, gathering her in his arms when he heard the sound of someone else dropping to the floor. And then another person.

He looked around. The presidential aide was lying on the floor, ex-animate. Saul Tigh only feet away from her, unconscious.

The scenery around him blurred, his vision caught between his XO and the frail figure in his arms, he barked orders to his officers on auto control.

Blood pounding in his ears, blocking the amount of information that rushed towards him, he tried to calm down again to resume his executive duties.

Lieutenant Gaeta put the images of Cylon ships on the screens. The momentary silence in between the deliverance of these pictures and the following status report was deafening.

"No life signs, Sir!"

Those were the first words that reached his mind. Briskly he ordered out vipers to confirm the information.

With Laura still motionless in his arms, he noticed how Major Cottle approached him from the side. He forgot his immediate orders to get a med team to CIC. Cottle waved two of his aides over with a stretcher, signaling for the Admiral to carefully lie her down on it.

Seeing the short sparkle of protest and concern in Admiral Adama's eyes, the Major shot him a smile that was as short as it was reassuring and understanding. He allowed the Admiral to lie her down at his own pace, his hands brushing strains of her hair from her face with a tenderness that surprised them both, Cottle and Adama, in the presence of his crew.

Doctor Cottle felt the President's pulse and ordered his personnel to rush her to sickbay along with Colonel Tigh and Tory Foster. With his mind still circling around her wellbeing, Admiral Adama forced himself to switch into his duty mode again.

In sickbay, Major Cottle hadn't enough hands to attend all of his patients with the same attention. He had ordered to begin with the blood transfusion for the President, and checked on the Colonel and the presidential aide when Chief Tyrol and Ensign Anders were brought in.

When one of his nurses sought his support with Hera Agathon, he found her mother Sharon lifeless and pale next to her. Caprica Six was brought to sickbay as well after she had collapsed in her prison cell. She joined Athena's body in the morgue moments later.

Colonel Tigh's life signs were weakening by the minute, as well as Tory Foster's, Chief Tyrol's and Ensign Anders'.

Cottle lit a calming cigarette between treatments, rushing from one curtain to the other, his hands and expertise needed everywhere. Sickbay was a chaos of sounds, tissues, stretcher and drips. Orders were barked, monitors beeped, and life was at stake.

The only person enveloped by perfect calm was the President of the 12 Colonies, the Prophet of the Final Five, the woman called Laura Roslin.

She was surrounded by light. It was not as blinding as it used to be, and it seemed to lose its intensity with every sentence that was spoken.

Kara Thrace was standing next to her again, her hand placed on Laura's shoulder. They were surrounded by the shrinking figures of the other members of the circle. And Kara spoke to her in a weakening voice, her face covered by the veil she wore.

"This is your home, prophet. The Earth you've been looking for."

And she led her to the place of her earlier visions, the feeling of fresh green grass real underneath Laura's feet.

"This is the place you will spend the rest of your days now. And there will be plenty to come."

Laura turned around, following the laughter of a child running across the landscape. It was Hera. She jumped into the arms of a man. A man with features as familiar to her as her own. A man who did not hide the chuckle in his throat and who waved her over to be part of his world. Laura looked at Kara Thrace again. Her light dim now and gray.

"This is not a paradise, prophet." Kara whispered. "It might be yours, but you won't be able to share it with everybody from your following."

Laura nodded.

"The paradise you build within is the paradise you will create without." Kara added. "But it is limited to those who have the wisdom to accept that."

Laura turned around again, the light that surrounded Kara Thrace almost gone. It was his arms that distracted her from the fading of the Final Five, and it was the childish laughter that rang in her ears as a beautiful reminder of days of a shared life to come.

As she woke from her vision, she felt warm hands wrapped around hers, and soft lips lingering on the back of her hand. Bill.

She smiled - a feeling of peace had nestled in her heart. Bill returned her smile, his eyes reflecting the relief he felt to have her with him again.

Laura brought her hand to his jaw and cheek, caressing his skin with a calm touch. Her eyes locked with his, trying to ease the grief that hid behind the surface.

His eyes teared up, and with the curtains closed around them, he allowed himself to bury his head on her stomach, her fingers toying with his hair, soothing him.

After a moment of silent tears, he whispered his sorrow against her before he met her gaze again, "He's dead, Laura."

And she nodded with a sad smile, closing her eyes for a beat.

"He's dead. He just collapsed and died."

Laura wiped his tears away while he went on, looking into her eyes.

"I couldn't do a thing."

And she shook her head, releasing a gasp.

"I was there, with you, Laura." He slid his arm around her stomach. "I felt so helpless with you collapsing."

And she drew him closer to her body.

"There was nothing else on my mind but your safety. And I still don't understand what happened."

Laura held him close, absorbing his confusion, and his pain. She allowed him to shed some more tears before she began to speak to him in a quiet and soft voice.

"They were destined to protect us on our way to Earth. But they were not destined to see it. The Final Five are gone now. Their souls are at peace."

He looked at her, less doubtful than she had expected. He gave her a calm answer instead.

"There are no life signs, Laura."

She lowered her head.

"There are no life signs on this planet. Neither were there any on the Cylon ships that awaited us."

His words sinking in, she tried to remember what her visions had taught her.

"This isn't the 13th Colony yet, Bill. It is Earth however."

He blinked, trying to process her logic.

"We are the prophecies, Bill. We have been all the time."

Laura's head cleared up, her thoughts connecting the scriptures and her visions. "We will build the 13th Colony now, with our settlement. And it will not be a paradise for every single member of the fleet because there is no such thing as a paradise."

Bill nodded. He began to understand.

"The Final Five led us to a safe haven that would protect us from the Cylons."

Bill nodded again.

"The only question remaining is, what killed the Cylons?" Laura asked calmly.

"I think I can answer that." Bill returned with a soft expression on his face.

"There's proof of earlier settlement on this planet. There's no proof of any nuclear accident or massive destruction. So the next thing I can think of is a virus. So maybe, the virus that extinguished the population on this planet, freed us from the Cylons after all."

Laura nodded, "That wouldn't be the first time."

Bill agreed. "No, it wouldn't. And it definitely isn't unwelcome."

She smiled.

"No need to argue about genocide this time." She said with less lightness than she had anticipated.

And he nodded again, sharing her relief.

As soon as the first vipers, scientists and teams had returned from the surface, plans for a permanent settlement were stretched out. It was only a matter of days to transport enough supplies to the planet's surface, and it was a lucky coincidence that the planet called the 13th Colony of Kobol had plenty of resources to fulfil needs the fleet long had suppressed.

When the first settlers were sent to the surface to build tents and houses, schools and hospitals, the first festivities were celebrated and the first babies were born on the planet called Earth in the prophecies.

Laura Roslin remained the President of the 13 Colonies of Kobol for another term of office. Her re-election was beyond doubt.

Bill Adama, who had retired after all, was still a respected and busy advisor to the growing Colonial fleet. He used most of his days reading by the river at the cabin he had built with his wife. He had supported her renewed campaign for the presidency, he saw to it that she had enough time to relax and that she met her monthly doctor's appointments.

Life had calmed down for them. Her decisions less burdening, her smile more frequent.

It was on one of her free days that she woke to the touch of his hands on her skin. The sun was tickling her nose, and he had made breakfast again.

When she placed her thank you kiss onto his lips for welcoming her to a day like this, she knew that an easy and relaxed day was ahead of them. They would exchange some tender kisses and enjoy a playful breakfast before they would seduce each other into noon. He would shower with her, massage her, take a walk with her, just spend the day with her like the Gods intended.

Eventually, they would stop at the shore where they had taken their vows, and it was all too possible that they would lie down in the grass to smoke and enjoy the comfort of each other's arms.

It was on one of those days she had learned to cherish so much that Laura stood outside of their happy home. She observed how a 6-year-old Hera ran across the lawn and jumped into Bill's arms. Her chuckle high-pitched and happy, met his, low and free. She felt the soft ground underneath her bare feet, she smelled the grass and absorbed the warming brightness of the sun. And she remembered her vision. When he waved her over, seeing how she was lost in thoughts, he approached her to wrap his arms around her moments later, and suddenly she knew. The Final Five had been right.

She had found her home, she had created her paradise. And she shared it with the only person that mattered.

Smiling at the content expression on her face, Bill pulled her into a lingering kiss, never feeling the urge to question her happiness.

They shared another moment of perfection on a sunny day, appreciating every precious second of it.

And they embraced it with ease.

**The End**


End file.
